Week 9

Bucs at Raiders

Kickoff: 4 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV, Channel13; DirecTV 712.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); SiriusXM Channel 127.

Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, a typical NoCal day: non-stop sunshine, cloudless skies and kickoff temperature of 70. The temperature will rise slightly to 72 near the fourth quarter.

Odds: Per Sportsbook.com, Bucs +1.

Outlook: Joe has a hunch there will be a lot of points on the board. The Bucs’ run game will likely suffer with Carl Nicks out for the year, not to mention the Raiders secondary isn’t very good either. Also, the Bucs’ pass defense still gives up chunks of passing yards to good quarterbacks. Raiders QB quarterback Carson Palmer may not be what he once was but he is still better than Christian Ponder. … We won’t know for sure if Ted Larsen or Jeremy Zuttah will start in place of the injured Nicks but that is a very key element to watch as the Raiders have damn good defensive tackles.

Back when the Bucs inexplicably cut Tiquan Underwood before opening day following a stellar preseason and training camp by Tampa Bay’s eventual No. 3 receiver, Underwood began pounding the pavement looking for work.

And the job search in September took him to Oakland, where the Raiders worked Underwood out and passed on him in favor of fellow journeyman receiver Derek Hagan.

Thank goodness the Raiders waved goodbye to Underwood.

Joe’s confident the Bucs offense wouldn’t be what it is today with Arrelious Benn soaking up Underwood’s snaps. Greg Schiano’s and rockstar general manager Mark Dominik’s bad call on Underwood became a correctable mistake when Underwood was re-signed during Week 3.

Joe has to think the competitive Underwood would love to stick it to the Raiders this afternoon, a little payback for keeping him unemployed and dragging his ass to the left coast for a tryout. This week, Raiders coach Dennis Allen said the Bucs’ offense was most impressive for the way it can pump the ball down the field in the passing game. Hopefully that will continue along with the Raiders continuing to underestimate Underwood’s ability.

The amazing new ESPN AT SEA has great “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013. Yeah, Super Bowl time.

All kinds of former NFL greats are accessible on the cruises, as well as stars from the soccer world, cruise cheerleaders and much more. There are so many options to choose, plus parties, and a discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers. Click on through below to sniff all the deals and check out the Royal Caribbean ships.

Joe’s done more than his share of homework on the Raiders over the past 10 days.

Joe watched the Raiders-Chiefs game last Sunday. Joe had an in-depth chat with a Raiders beat writer before that, and Joe was able to bark out questions to Darren McFadden and Raiders head coach Dennis Allen at One Buc Palace earlier this week, along with studying all things Raiders.

Joe’s biggest takeaway is that it’s a brutally tough task to prepare for the Raiders defensively. What the Raiders will do on offense is a giant crap shoot.

Oakland is struggling to find a balance between their new zone blocking scheme and the power blocking that was there before Allen took over this offseason. Nobody knows what’s coming in the running game. Darren McFadden is healthy and running very hard but has horrendous stats on the season. He broke a 28-yarder last week but only finished with 114 yards on 29 carries. There’s a really sense, however, out of Oakland that the running game is about to break out.

Carson Palmer is a having a stellar season and has been using a load of no-huddle in some games and not much in others. Plus he’s got weapons. Denarius Moore and Darius Heyward-Bey have sick speed, which is the one thing the Bucs don’t have much of in their secondary. Eric Wright’s got an Achilles issue, and the rest of the cornerback crew, Myron Lewis, E.J. Biggers, Brandon McDonald and Leonard Johnson are now known for their wheels.

If the Bucs’ play a lot of zone to contain the Raiders, Palmer’s top target is tight end Brandon Myers, and Palmer has the patience and experience to dink and dunk the Bucs successfully, and McFadden is dangerous out of the backfield in the passing game.

This will be a great chess game today. Joe suspects the Bucs will play a little wait and see to determine if their front four can get any pass rush. If they can’t it’s going to be a long afternoon, but Joe remains confident the Bucs can win a shootout with the Raiders.

Joe is a big LeGarrette Blount guy as readers know. But Joe is sensing a turning point in the clamoring for Blount by Bucs fans.

Blount has had more than a few chances to show Bucs coach Greg Schiano he should get more carries. Outside of a run or two, it’s hard to see why Blount should get more carries given the success of Doug Martin. Even Joe can see this.

Doug Martin seems to be getting better and better every week and his dazzling performance against the Vikings was what Bucs fans have been waiting for. This is yet another reason that Blount won’t get many carries.

Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune types that, despite his limited carries and not much to justify more, the Bucs will need Blount down the road this season.

Though the idea of trading RB LeGarrette Blount grew legs on local sports-talk radio, it never gained traction at One Buc Place, where Dominik was wary of the possibility of history repeating itself.

He wasn’t so wary a year ago, when he opted not to re-sign Cadillac Williams and then regretted it after Kregg Lumpkin turned out to be Kregg Lumpkin and Earnest Graham went down with a career-ending Achilles tendon injury.

The idea of trading Blount, then, was never really given much thought, though there was more behind the decision to hold onto him than fear an injury could destroy the team’s depth.

This is a valid point. At some time this season Martin is going to hit the old rookie wall and hit it hard. Will he be able to manage that wall? Only time will tell.

Perhaps keeping Blount in the mix on game days will delay Martin from hitting that dreaded wall.

Joe thought he’d take a break in Aqib Talib coverage to bring you a breezy, Saturday feel-good post while you take a break from college football and guzzling beer.

Damn, when looking at how the Bucs have played this year — even in losses — and to remember that friggin’ horror show fans were ambushed with week after grotesque week last year, it’s like a whole new team.

Even though the Bucs are one game below .500, this year’s bunch (there’s a Hubert Mizell word for you) seems light years better, and frankly is a breath of fresh air.

Joe has typed this before and stands by his words: There is no more improved player for the Bucs than middle linebacker Mason Foster. It’s like he’s a new man.

This has not been lost on Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com who, in an NFC South chat, even invoked the Pro Bowl when discussing Foster.

Karthik (San Jose)

Do you think Mason Foster will get Pro Bowl consideration if he continues to play at this level? He’s near the top of the league in tackles and makes numerous plays in the backfield

Pat Yasinskas

Possibly. Know he’s getting heavy consideration for All-NFC South midseason team that will run next week.

The Bucs linebacker play has been amazing. Sure, it’s helped that Quincy Black has shown up. Sure, it’s helped that Lavonte David has been everything Joe wrote about last winter and more.

But Foster has been the rock of the Bucs defense, simply playing amazing football.

Joe told this to Foster’s face not long ago, and let’s just say Foster liked what Joe said: “You should have some pineapple in your belly come February.”

“Jimminy Christmas Dexter, I can get you a job! I can hook you up frying wings at Hooters. Why would you go anywhere else?”

One reason Chucky was jettisoned by Team Glazer was his terrible Matt Millen-like drafts. Chucky swung and missed so often, Karlos Pena was left blanch.

Troubled, granny-hassling, coach-cussing, helmet-wielding, cabbie-punching, Adderall-popping Aqib Talib’s departure Thursday all but closed the book on the ugly 2008 draft.

The lone remaining player from that draft — just four years later — may be the best pick by Chucky in that draft, Jeremy Zuttah.

Here’s the 2008 Bucs draft:

Aqib Talib, CB (traded to Pats)
(The bad) Dexter Jackson, WR (out of football)
Jeremy Zuttah, OL (starts for Bucs)
Dre Moore, DT (out of football)
Josh Johnson, QB (played for Sacramento Mountain Lions of UFL when league shut down operations this fall)
Geno Hayes, LB (plays for Bears)
Cory Boyd, RB (out of football)

This is just brutal. Four years later, only one player remains on the team. Any wonder why the Bucs struggled the past couple of years and had no depth?

It all started with Chucky, who Joe will forever be grateful for when he took the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory.

At Derby Lane on Gandy Boulevard in St. Pete today, you can watch and wager on all the Breeders’ Cup races. Plus there’s live greyhound racing day and night, plus great lounges to watch college football and enjoy adult beverages. And don’t forget the best poker room in Florida and the amazing Derby Club buffet. Click through below to get all the details.

Now the following is no knock on Josh Freeman or his verbal skills, only a transcript of a telling response from the quarterback. For Joe, it’s telling because the well spoken Freeman was at loss for words and disinterested in talking about Aqib Talib on Thursday.

Hearing this exchange on The Josh Freeman Show on WDAE-AM 620 Thursday, Freeman sounded like a guy whose mom taught him not to say anything about someone if you can’t say anything nice.

Steve Duemig: Talk about Talib a little bit. You lose a teammate; this is a business.

Josh Freeman: Yeah. I mean, it’s um. I mean I’m not a GM by any stretch. I can just speak from being Aqib’s teammate. You know, he’s a guy that, um, a heck of a football player. And you know he’s a guy that is movin’ on in his career. You know, it’s, um, it’s just, like you said, it’s a business. That’s how it goes. But you know it’s um, really, it’s the least of my concerns at the moment.

Duemig: But you don’t spend a lot of time with the defensive side of the football to begin with.

Freeman: No. Yeah, but Aqib’s just a guy that gets to know a lot of people. He’s um. But yeah, he’s been on the team.

Joe has never heard Freeman string together babble like that.

Talib was widely considered a good teammate when he wasn’t suspended, working very hard, showing up with Freeman at player-run lockout workouts, playing through pain, etc. But this comment/non-comment from Freeman tells Joe that Talib’s irresponsibililty had run its course in the locker room.

Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer Erik Erlendsson is trying to keep busy and penned a story in The Tampa Tribune about how the subject of Talib was taboo among players in the Bucs locker room Friday.

Nobody’s talking candidly. Joe can only speculate why, but Joe’s confident Talib’s ex-teammates spared him a good public tongue lashing.

The Boston Globe quotes anonymous league executives stunned by the bounty the Bucs scored for Aqib Talib

Joe had fun Friday listening to and reading the various chatter from the annoying Boston media and fans.

So what’s their general consensus on the Aqib Talib trade? 

The Patriots got fleeced by rockstar general manager Mark Dominik, highway robbery for a fourth-round pick unless the Patriots win the Super Bowl. If the Pats score a ring with Talib, well, then it’s all good, says the New England faithful.

Boston Globe NFL writer Greg Bedard is in that camp. In a column yesterday, he also shared what he learned about how league executives are buzzing after the trade.

“Are you kidding me?” one AFC personnel executive said when told of the terms. “A fourth-round pick for a character risk? How was Tampa Bay able to land that price? Who were (the Patriots) competing against?”

Another AFC executive said “it all depends” on if the Patriots win the Super Bowl.

“It’s a desperation move but the guy is lockdown corner, a good player,” he said. “Good press cover guy. But a complete and utter fool as a person.”

Joe finds it interesting that so many think the Bucs nailed a steal in this deal. But just like everything in the NFL, the true value of a trade is revealed on the field. A fourth-round pick is no assurance of anything, and the loss of Talib thins out the Bucs’ secondary to an alarming state.

Don’t think it’s alarming? Greg Schiano said Friday that Myron Lewis is among the cornerbacks that need to get on the field.

The amazing new ESPN AT SEA has some great “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013. Yeah, Super Bowl.

All kinds of former NFL greats are accessible on the cruises, as well as greats from the soccer world, cruise cheerleaders and much more. There are so many options to choose, plus parties and a discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers. Click on through below to sniff all the deals and check out the Royal Caribbean ships.

NFL writer Will Brinson peels the skins off the onion that is the Bucs-Raiders game to give his thoughts on how this game will shake out in this CBSSports.com video.

Just as Joe predicted (to himself) yesterday, and the prediction continued today, the pro-Aqib Talib faction, blinded by potential while unable to see the facts, were outraged that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik was able find a sucker to cough up a fourth round pick for a guy the Bucs were going to let walk away after his contract expired in February.

Bill Belicheat was the sap this time, apparently a move of desperation as his toasty secondary is getting lit up right and left.

As the old cliche goes, any port in a storm.

The numbers crunchers of ProFootballFocus.com have monitored Talib’s play this year and their numbers and calculations reinforce what intelligent Bucs fans have seen: that Talib is grossly overrated and at best, is an inconsistent cornerback on (when he began his four-game suspension) the NFL’s worst pass defense.

How bad was Talib getting roasted? Some 66 percent of the balls thrown his way were completed. Doesn’t sound much like a lockdown corner to Joe.

Here are the gory details Twittered by PFF:

@PFF: Talib this year: 36 targets, 24 receptions (66.7%), for 399 yards and 1 TD given up. 1 INT, 6 PDs, QB rating of 101.5 into his coverage

That’s 16 yards a completion Talib averaged which is no less than outrageous! Myron Lewis could do just as well without all the drama and for a fraction of the cost.

As veteran columnist Gary Shelton once inferred this season on TampaBay.com, if you are, at best, an inconsistent cornerback on the league’s worst pass defense, just what value do you bring?

Apparently, in the poker room of Dominik, a fourth round pick.

Interesting stuff in this Boston sports radio audio below from popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging Peter King, of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports fame.

King reveals some of his fireside training camp chat with Greg Schiano about Aqib Talib. And King shares his talks with Talib, as well.

“Greg Schiano really liked this guy,” King emphasized.

King went on to make sure Patriots fans understand that Talib is not a great cornerback. He’s “not nirvana” for the Pats, King says. (The Talib chatter picks up about 3:10 of the audio.)

Here are the regions of the country that will broadcast the Bucs-Raiders game live over local FOX affiliate airwaves for the 4 p.m. EST kickoff. Areas shaded in yellow will receive the Bucs-Raiders broadcast. It appears Fort Myers and Tallahassee will get to see the Bucs game. Maps are subject to change prior to kickoff. Map is courtesy of the506.com.

Veteran Tampa Bay sportscaster Dave Wirth, of WTSP-TV, Ch. 10, weighs in with his exclusive weekly video for JoeBucsFan.com.

How cool is this!

Wirth gets into the various “bombshells” pounding away at the Bucs roster, and the Raiders game. Enjoy.

Josh Freeman was unprompted and speaking with extreme confidence last night when he said the Bucs offense and his chemistry with receivers will be significantly better in a month or so.

Freeman, via The Josh Freeman Show on WDAE-AM 620, comfortably talked about how the offense is grinding out the work day by day and seeing results — nine touchdown passes in the past three games should let any Bucs fan know Freeman is not delusional — and how Dallas Clark is settling in now after adjusting to an offense radically different than the one he was in for a decade in Indianapolis.

Interestingly, Greg Schiano gave a similar take to the Oakland media, via Associated Press.

“Everyone is getting a little bit better and it adds up,” Schiano said. “That doesn’t mean anything it’s looking forward. It gives them confidence, it should give them confidence that ‘Hey, this is what we’re capable of but you’re only as good as your next outing.’ That’s what we need to do. We need to go out and do a little bit better this week against Oakland. That’s what we have to try.”

Thankfully, tired “the-getting-better-every-day” line is not a bunch of baloney for these Bucs. One can track steady improvement on numerous fronts, including the coaching staff and Doug Martin stepping to the front of the line in Minnesota.

Hopefully it continues. But it’ll be a huge test to see how the Bucs respond when they do, almost inevitably, drop a clunker.

Back in December 1999, the Bucs lost 45-0 in Oakland, as Napolean Kaufman and Tyrone Wheatley ran hog wild on Tampa Bay. It served as a stunning a wake-up call before falling oh so short in the NFC Championship game to the Rams. Shaun King, QB of those ’99 Bucs, remembered that Raiders disaster yesterday on WDAE-AM. King said the Bucs had won six in a row before that game and there was a rockstar vibe around the team, which included one unnamed Buccaneer in the team resort elevator with naughty Salli Richardson the day before the game. 

History aside, Joe expects no such let down — or celebrity bedding — under the New Schiano Order in Oakland on Sunday. With extra time to prepare for this game, Joe doesn’t expect the Bucs to take a step backwards.

Super Bowl season is a fun time of year. And the amazing ESPN AT SEA has some great “Big Game” cruises out of Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale in 2013.

All kinds of former NFL greats are involved and accessible on the cruises, as well as greats from the soccer world, cheerleaders and much more. There’s a load of options, parties and a discount for JoeBucsFan.com readers. Click on through below to sniff all the deals and check out the Royal Caribbean ships.

Eric Wright’s days with the Bucs could very well quickly turn upside down if Greg Schiano’s handling of Aqib Talib is any standard.

Joe has to admit he was a bit stunned yesterday when Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik shipped gun-toting, helmet-wielding, cabbie-slugging, coach-cussing, granny-hassling Aqib Talib.

One reason was that even after the suspension for popping Adderall, Bucs coach Greg Schiano was adamant that Talib started with a clean slate with him and that the pill-popping was just his first offense.

Talib, who was Schiano’s staunchest supporter prior to the suspension, didn’t even get to finish out his sentence before being shipped off.

Now if Schiano has that itchy of a trigger finger to unload Talib after one offense, a player that constantly stuck up for Schiano and his hard-driving ways, just what are the chances troubled Eric Wright finishes the season in a Bucs uniform?

Wright, indirectly, made waves across the NFL last Sunday when NFL insider Jay Glazer, who also works for NFL Network in addition to his FOX duties, broke the news that Wright, too, tested positive for Adderall. And if true, he’s facing a four-game suspension just like Talib.

Joe is quick to point out that while Bucs officials hint Wright will play Sunday, not one Bucs official nor any NFL suit has hinted, on or off the record, that Glazer’s story was inaccurate.

Given Glazer’s history of nailing scoops, it’s difficult to believe the Bucs, Wright, his agent, and the NFL would be so quiet if Glazer was off base.

So if the Bucs were so quick to wash their hands of a Schiano-guy, just how thin is the ice under Wright?